Global Trust Asset Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Global Trust Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 31.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 250 shares during the quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $52,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Duke Energy by 46.6% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 368 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $1,549,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 437,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,190,031.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.79, for a total value of $1,027,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 68,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,057,253.03. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total value of $1,549,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 437,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,190,031.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 26,695 shares of company stock valued at $2,750,815. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 20th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Bank of America upped their price target on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.33.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of DUK opened at $101.51 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $78.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $100.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.50. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $83.06 and a 1 year high of $104.87.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $7.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.31 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.25% and a net margin of 10.78%. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.20 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th were paid a dividend of $1.025 per share. This represents a $4.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.04%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 103.02%.

Duke Energy Company Profile

Duke Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy company in the United States. It operates through two segments: Electric Utilities and Infrastructure (EU&I), and Gas Utilities and Infrastructure (GU&I). The EU&I segment generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electricity in the Carolinas, Florida, and the Midwest.